20 Minute Spinach Lemon Orzo
This 5-ingredient spinach lemon orzo is a quick and cozy weeknight side dish. It’s zippy from lemon, packed with spinach, and ready in 20 minutes. Just simple pantry staples that actually taste good together.
Servings: 8 servings as a side dish
Calories: 122kcal
Ingredients
- 1 TB Olive oil
- 1 cup Orzo
- 2 cups Water (can sub broth if you like)
- 3 cups Baby spinach
- 2 Lemons, zested and juiced
- ½ cup Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a saute pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and then the orzo.
- While stirring let the orzo toast for about 2 minutes. Then add the broth and let cook until it’s almost absorbed…about 8-10 minutes,
- then add in the spinach and lemon zest and continue to let cook until the spinach is wilted and the orzo is cooked through.
- Stir in the lemon juice and optional parmesan, then serve.
Notes
Variations on the original recipe
- Swap the spinach: Kale (just cook it longer), chard, or frozen spinach (be sure to squeeze the excess liquid out before adding it to the dish).
- Change the lemon: Preserved lemon = fancy. Lemon juice concentrate = in a pinch it'll work.
- Make it gluten-free: Try gluten-free orzo or even arborio rice for a risotto-style situation.
- Add some protein: Chickpeas, white beans, or plop a fried egg on top like I do in my pasta pangrattato.
Reheating Leftovers
Toss the leftovers in an airtight container. They’ll be happy in the fridge for about 3 days. Reheat it with a splash of water to loosen things up. 30-60 seconds covered in the microwave usually does the trick. Don’t freeze this one. Orzo gets weird and mushy (and kinda sad) in the freezer.Nutrition
Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 123mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1115IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 1mg
